​What You Can Do to Reduce Polarization

​What You Can Do to Reduce Polarization

When you listen:Listen to understand.Stay curious.Understanding does not mean changing your beliefs.What to say when you speak:Help me understand more about. . . .Why is that so important to you?What experiences led you to your beliefs?

Speak up civilly for what you believe.

Call a family member you disagree with, stay curious and listen to understand.

Open a dialogue with a friend with whom you have a difference and look for common ground.

Ask a neighbor with whom you disagree to “help me understand more about . . .”

Inquire of a co-worker with whom you disagree, “Why is that so important to you”?

Commit to working on a project with someone whose perspective differs from your own.

Listen to a news source whose ideological viewpoints are different from your own.

Read a book that helps you understand people on the other side of the political divide.

Model and call for civility in a public meeting when others are being uncivil.

Reflect on the Christian, Jewish and Islamic tenet that we are “to do unto one another as we would have others do to us”.

Remember that as Americans we are part of the same nation, regardless of how we vote.

​Consider random acts of kindness. . .

Make a point of saying good morning or good evening to people you meet.

Take your old clothes to the Garage of Blessings or Good Cheer.

Shovel a neighbor’s driveway when it snows.

Pick up something someone dropped.

Let someone go in front of you in line.

Buy coffee anonymously for the person in the car behind you at the coffee kiosk.